Depression is one of my subjects. I worked with a psychiatrist in a London clinic, and more often than not resolved cases of depression in one session.

According to 'Dr Dillner' in the Guardian newspaper, latest research suggests mental health problems are more common than thought, but patients aren't getting the right help needed.

Alastair Campbell, an English politician who wrote political diaries, had a breakdown, and ended up in hospital. He said, "Up until then I had resisted all attempts to persuade me that I needed help. When people started to write about this side of my life I made a conscious decision always to be open and to hope that people who have a bad breakdown can see it does not have to mean your life is over. I am actually very proud of my breakdown. Or the recovery at least. And of the fact I have sort of learned to live with depression."

Mental healthcare services need such public discussion. The Guardian newspaper reported that a London School of Economics report said, "a third of families have a member with mental health problems but only one in four people who need treatment are getting it. This is partly due to people not realising that they have got a mental illness but also because of a lack of resources to treat them."

Depression and anxiety, are most common. Even schizophrenia is under treated. Depression relapses for 50% of patients, but the other half can be cured

Few people diagnose themselves as depressed. Dr Andrew Jones, a GP from Surrey and the head of clinical engagement at the BMJ Group, said, "People often come to see me not with a mental health problem, but with the impact it has on their lives. They'll be struggling at work, not sleeping, drinking too much alcohol or getting headaches. But they know somewhere that it's not really the problem."

Dr Jim Bolton said, "We all know what it is like to feel sad when something bad happens but with depression the feelings go on for much longer and you don't bounce back. If you think you are depressed or anxious you should see your GP. It won't be an uncomfortable conversation. A lot of sadness is entirely appropriate, but depression seems to carry on when the events have resolved. We all have a certain resilience and vulnerability. One person might see something as a challenge while another will feel overwhelmed by it and that will depend on their life experiences, upbringing and genetic factors."

Another GP, Helen Lester, who is professor of primary care at the University of Birmingham said, "We don't know enough about depression to explain it. The evidence is unclear about the interaction between genes and the environment. Depression is divided into mild or moderate and severe. If someone has mild depression, I talk about changes they can make to their lifestyle such as reducing how much they drink, advising them to sleep properly and to exercise. They can also be prescribed online cognitive behavioural therapy to do once a week for two to three months. It is quite hard work: people have to note their negative thoughts and learn how to think about positive things. I rarely prescribe on the day. I would ask you to look up antidepressants and the side effects, for example 5% will get diarrhoea, and to chat to friends and family about whether you should take them. Then a week later I would ask you to come in for a review. Often women in particular will say they hadn't realised some of their friends had been on them. This normalises it – mental illness is not this terrible scary thing that means you are going mad." If you do take SSRIs it can take two months to feel different and you will need to continue to see your GP while you are taking them. I say from the start that they will need to take them for 12 months."

Sheila Gill is North London psychological therapist, and has co-authored a book, Therapy for Beginners. She says, "When people are depressed they can debride their lives of activities, which makes them feel even worse. We try to get them up, moving about and doing things. Normally when you're tired you need to rest more but the fatigue of depression is such that going to the gym or other physical activity, even walking to the corner shop, may help you to feel better. If you walk home along a different street, choose a different kind of sandwich or sit in a different chair, you may begin to feel that you can begin to change bigger things. I also tell people to begin to adopt an attitude of kindness towards themselves. In depression, the single most important thing to challenge is negative thought processes."

If you need further help, please contact me direct - I have helped many with a simple guided therapy over the phone. One memorable case was a lady, hospitalised with depression. After one session she was cured. Her psychiatrist asked to meet me... But that's another story...

samaritans.org

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See my weird-but-true first blog post on December 1st 2011, for an overview of my polymath, joyful and horrid fairy tale life. Taste the yummy, Godly, disgusting and loving ingredients of future posts - all truthful, with just a little artistic licence.

If writing is the fruit of sin, I must have sinned greatly. Otherwise how was I cured after decades of being 80% disabled; how did I earn merits at a university creative writing course for poetry, fiction and non-fiction; and how did I travel and lecture on TV and radio internationally? I must surely have sinned in wonderfully fun ways.